DOREEN Lawrence yesterday laid a bouquet of flowers at the spot where her son Stephen died aged just 18.

She visited the memorial stone three days after two men were finally convicted of murdering Stephen in a racist attack in 1993.

In the midst of a sea of floral tributes, one message said: “Justice at last.”

Doreen, 59, arrived alone to meet a vicar at the memorial in Eltham, south London.

A passer-by shook her hand and offered a consoling arm.

Then a mum walking with her son – who was around the age Stephen would have been now – introduced herself and gave a hug of support.

An onlooker said: “Doreen was very composed. She said a prayer for her son and read all the messages of support and admired the flowers.”

The marble memorial in Well Hall Road is laid into the pavement next to a tree where Stephen died after running 120 yards with blood pouring from both shoulders.

He had been stabbed twice by a gang.

Doreen has visited the spot every year on April 22, the anniversary of her son’s murder.

Stephen’s dad Neville, 69, said the murder signalled the end of his marriage.

He explained: “Our world began falling apart from the moment the hospital staff told us our son had died. For some reason that I’ve tried to understand – and I still don’t – we couldn’t reach out to one another.

“We stayed together for another six years but from that day we never physically touched one another.”

The long campaign for justice for their son involved many discussions in groups – but Neville said he and his wife would talk about “absolutely nothing” as a couple.

He added: “In 18 years, me and Doreen have still never once talked about what happened to Stephen that night. About how and why he died and how it affected us.

“We didn’t cuddle or hold hands for comfort, as you might expect a couple to do.

“We would sleep in the same bed but we lay side-by-side like statues. It took those boys 10 seconds to murder Stephen – 10 seconds to take the life of somebody they didn’t know, who was just going home on the bus, minding his ownbusiness.

“In those 10 seconds they wrecked our lives too”

Gary Dobson, 36, was sentenced to at least 15 years and two months at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for the savage murder.

David Norris, 35, was given a minimum of 14 years and three months for the killing, which Judge Colman Treacy said was a “terrible and evil crime”.

Britain’s top law officer is now reviewing claims that the jail terms were too lenient.